Teddy Mitchell
Theodore Adam Mitchell Aug. 26 1995 (fc: Chris Kendall) ''Teddy Mitchell ''is one of a kind. He prides himself on his friendly demeanor, talking to and befriending anyone who crosses his path. He loves being the reason for someone to smile and tries his best to keep his friends in positive spirits. Acting and performing on stage has been his passion from a very young age. Theater has always been his safety away from home. Being on stage was where he felt like he belonged. Teddy can easily embody any character thrown at him. It almost surprises him just how easy it is to slip in and out of a character with stunning conviction. It’s been a skill that not only works during performances but off the stage as well…so you may never know when the smiling, kind hearted boy is putting on an act just for you. Early Life Born to Aiden and Florence Mitchell on August 26, 1995 in Cambridge, MA Teddy was the baby of three older brothers, Nathaniel (now 23), Tate (now 21), and Jacob (now 19). His family all had a passion for sports, their favorite being football. All three of his brother’s had grown up as star football players of their school. Teddy, being the black sheep of his family, had never found an interest in the sport despite how hard his father would try. Summer nights spent out in the backyard, tossing a football around, never appealed to him. Instead he chose to sit inside with his mom and help her around the house. After the typical house chores were completed, Florence would take Teddy into her bedroom where she would pull out a box of her favorite musicals. Every night, while his father and brothers would play outside, they’d snuggle up in her bed and watch one. As a child, his favorite had been Oliver Twist. He would sing along to the songs and reenact everything the actors would do. His mother would laugh and cheer him on, applauding at the end of his routine. It was the first time he felt special. The first time he felt like the spot light was on him and that he had the power to make someone smile. He knew then what he had wanted to do for the rest of his life. Age 8 At age 8, his mother signed him up for a theater program for young kids. Teddy was ecstatic when she told him the news and couldn’t wait for the first day. When his brother’s heard that he was going to be in a theater program, they immediately started to pick on him for being something that only girls and “weakling” boys joined. While Florence put a quick end to the taunting, Teddy had already started to get doubts about the whole thing. After expressing those doubts to his mom, she sat him and told him, “You, my Teddy-bear, are different. You are not like your brothers. Your heart is like mine. It’s soft and kind and caring. You have a special spark about you that your brothers cannot see. You have the ability to be a star, to change people’s lives and make a name for yourself. Remember the feeling you get when you perform in front of an audience. Remember how proud you feel when they all stand and clap for you. But most of all, you remember me…standing in the very front row of every performance, tears in my eyes and smile on my face, cheering for my son as I watch his dreams come true.” Teddy smiled and nodded, agreeing to go to the program, where he later got the lead role of Oliver Twist himself. Age 11 At 11 years of age, Teddy’s world changed. While his parents were driving home from their weekday date night, their car lost its grip on the road due to heavy rains, causing his parents to skid off a bridge and plunge into water below. According to the people on scene, both had survived the initial crash, only to become trapped in the car, drowning becoming their cause of death. Teddy and his brother’s were placed in custody of their grandparents, Rita and Millard. Middle School Teddy’s dreams of becoming a stage actor drowned along with his parents during this time. Out of the four boys, he took their death the hardest. He felt lost without them, especially his mother. It didn’t help that without the constant overlook of Florence, his brother’s quickly slipped back into their habits of teasing and picking on Teddy any chance they could. It started off with little, snippy remarks here and there but it soon started to escalate quickly from verbal to physical abuse. His brother, Tate, was always the ring leader of the other two. He was manipulative and masochistic and able to get both Nathaniel and Jacob to do what he wished. Teddy was always their main target mainly because he wouldn’t fight back. Tate’s favorite form of abuse was having his brother’s hold down Teddy as he would beat him. These antics were often mistaken by adults as “boys just being boys”. High School Freshmen Teddy started high school in Boston, Massachusetts. Wanting to spend as much time as possible away from his house and brothers, he decided to join the after school drama program. It was there that he re-discovered his love of acting. For a moment in time, he was able to become a different person and live a different life than the one he was in. It was also where he found a group of close friends with the other students in the club. They quickly became one big family. It was the one thing in Teddy’s life that his brother’s could never touch. It was his safety and his home. His best friend was found during this time. Megan Calder was also a freshman and worked as the assistant stage manager for the theater. She was a proud lesbian and straight A student, working harder than most people in the school. Teddy and Megan quickly became close friends. Megan’s father was un-accepting of her lifestyle and would degrade her any chance he got. The two friends found solstice in each other’s company. They were both the outcasts. The black sheep of their families. Sophomore His brother’s abuse at home only got worse with age. Teddy was constantly locking his bedroom door and avoiding his brother’s at any cost, particularly Tate who seemed to get more brutal. Around half way through the school year, Teddy found a note from Megan taped to his locker. As he read it, his heart dropped, realizing it was a suicide not. He rushed to her house, only to find her hanging from her closet. This was the breaking point for him. For the next few months, he gave up his theater club and anything that he once loved, walking around like a lifeless zombie. The summer between his sophomore and junior year, he no longer saw the point in living. After trying to follow in his best friend’s footsteps and waking up in the hospital, his grandparents thought it was time for a major life change. While Teddy was placed under strict psychiatric care, they hunted for houses to move to, claiming that too much death revolved around this city. Millard had always been fond of his childhood house in Greensville, North Caroline. So at the end of the summer, they packed up and moved states. Junior Year Teddy took the move in stride…partly because he still felt numb and partly because he had hopes for a better life in a place where no one knew him. He joined the theater program at Greensville High and eventually moved out of his grandparent’s house, away from his brother’s, and into his new best friend’s house. Teddy had just barely passed his junior year and had to attend summer school but he is currently on the right path towards happiness. Relationships Shane Humphrey (fc: Darren Criss) Shane is Teddy's best friend. Durning Shane's first few weeks in Greensville, Teddy may have scared him with his enthusiam. Yet after running away from his house, Teddy now lives with Shane and is very happy with the living arragements. Debbie O'Connor (fc: Ali Gordon) Debbie was Teddy's first friend at Greensville. He was drawn to her very quickly based on the fact that she reminded him of Megan. James Houston (fc: Brendon Urie) Teddy adores James. He feels like he can go to him for anything and enjoys his cuddles the most (but don't tell Shane he said that).